3. In Colour / Jamie xx

Panoramic and pristine, In Colour may be the best electro-house record of all time.  It is a sparkling dance score experienced from great heights, elegant and lavishly produced.  Jamie xx's 42-minute solo debut arrives after years of curating in-demand DJ sets and helming production of The xx's first two minimalist records.  In parts nocturnal and noonday, the music is dark-hued and glimmering, serving as a grand escape from the glut of meathead EDM that rules much of the airwaves.

In the London producer's sophisticated hands, seemingly everything is possible.  He fashions accessible and deeply hypnotic soundscapes, masterfully culling from the finest elements of techno, house, garage, reggaeton, and R&B, and delivering a record that is fresh and vital, a de facto soundtrack for 2015.  There is an underlying joy that permeates the record, a knowing nod of just how fulfilling it is to be making such timely music.

First track "Gosh" builds to a dizzying finale as the synths circle higher and higher to reach into the heart of the sun, a giddy send-off for what at first appears to be only a classic drum'n'bass joint. Forget about the drop, as "Gosh" lifts listeners to stellar climbs, a quantum physics experiment in how to perfectly open a dazzling record.

In addition to a deft use of samples, Jamie xx employs bits of world rhythms, fragmented conversations, and ambient sounds from city streets to arrive at a lived-in feel for the record that could otherwise seem too distant, too preoccupied with the feel of the future.  The steel drums on "Obvs," the disembodied voices on "Sleep Sound," and the dancehall reggae of "I Know There's Gonna Be Good Times" all point to the producer's encyclopedic knowledge of and wide-spread appreciation for crate-digging gold.

Jamie xx's bandmate Romy lends her voice to two tracks, and it serves as a sultry foil to his crystalline work behind the boards.  "SeeSaw" swirls into a rave-like trance, pauses to consider chasing the elusive, and then rushes forward into gleaming electronica, as Romy repeats the refrain up and down with you, apparently succumbing to the pursuit.  "Loud Places" is one of the year's best tracks, as Romy's vocals are weary, pointed, and beautiful, aimed at the loneliness of club-going culture: I go to loud places to search for someone  to be quiet with / who will take me home / you go to loud places to find someone / who will take you higher than I took you / Didn't I take you to higher places you can reach without me?  She has moved on, it seems, although not without pangs of sadness, which are buried in gorgeous backing choirs before her final realization: When you come down / I won't be around. 

Oliver Sim also shows up, the third member of The xx to participate on the record, and he sings over bubbling synths and lonely guitar lines on "Stranger in a Room," the one track that could comfortably fit on the trio's previous work together.  The diverse approach on In Colour has to make listeners wonder if The xx will eventually move beyond its icy guitar minimalism.

Jamie xx makes a remarkable statement with "The Rest is Noise," a wide-screen electronic triumph that dwarfs the competition.  Everything else is static, he seems to say, in the shadow of such exquisite space and sound.  When the bass comes in for its first real push, followed by ethereal vocals, it is supremely gratifying to hear, and when it backs off into a glittering keyboard breakdown, it only serves to accentuate the grandeur throughout the rest of the song.  "Girl" is the seductive nightcap and a fitting capstone.  As the crowds finally filter out and you are left alone with your girl, the street quiet and the stars winking above, you should grab her hand and walk off into the night. The music will be waiting for you.